Navigating Regulatory Change in Asia Pacific – a whitepaper from Kapronasia and Broadridge

Regulation has always been the bugbear of the financial sector. On the one hand, it is a necessary part of stable industry growth. On the other, regulatory requirements are one of the biggest challenges for banks today; the global banking industry spends an estimated US$270 billion a year on compliance-related costs. Nowhere is the regulatory challenge more acute than in Asia Pacific, where a confluence of cultures, political systems, languages, and financial systems come together daily across the region. 

A Stock Connect program allows portfolio managers in Shanghai to buy equities in Hong Kong. A prop trader on a beach just outside of Sydney does high-frequency trading in Japan. A Singapore retail bank launches a digital-only bank in India. Even with the differences, the interconnectedness between markets across Asia is quite remarkable, especially considering the lack of regulatory harmonisation. 

For the foreseeable future, Asia Pacific financial industry participants will need to manage continually morphing regulations that govern each individual country and economy in the region. Increasing global regulation compounds the challenge and will force Asia Pacific firms to deal with not just regional regulations, but extraterritorial regulations such as those from the E.U. or the U.S. This can be complicated and cumbersome as firms not only need to worry about their own regulatory compliance but also that of their clients and counterparties.

It is in this context that Kapronasia, in partnership with Broadridge, is pleased to bring you this report entitled Navigating Regulatory Change in Asia Pacific. Based on discussions with regulatory experts from across the region, the report offers a practical and concise guide on how to be better prepared for future regulation and is a critical read to make sense of a shifting and complex regulatory market.